You're just a single demon beast? I have a whole army of beast tamers!

Deeper than a thousand miles?

Qin Shou's heart skipped a beat.

This is not a job that a newly recruited disciple should be doing!

The deeper you go into the Xuan Yin Swamp, the more dangerous it becomes; a thousand miles is already considered deep.

Third-tier demonic insects frequently appear, and the terrain is complex.

The miasma and poisonous fog were pervasive; even experienced mid-Foundation Establishment cultivators...

I wouldn't dare say I could escape unscathed.

Not to mention sending only the two newcomers as a team.

He subconsciously looked at Pei Lie.

The other person's face remained coldly businesslike, revealing nothing about their true intentions.

Is it a coincidence?

Or was it intentional?

Considering the possible surveillance in the past two days,

And the potential conflict between Spirit Silkworm Peak and Spirit Insect Peak in this area.

And this Senior Brother Pei Lie comes from Jiaolong Peak.

There may be a natural disregard for the Spirit Silkworm Peak...

A worrying thought crossed my mind: Could this team leader have tacitly approved or even cooperated with the actions of certain individuals?

After all, what if they were to perish unexpectedly during their exploration?

The blame can be entirely shifted to the dangerous swamp environment and insect swarms.

Sun Wan was clearly aware of the danger of the mission.

His face was slightly pale, and his lips moved as if he wanted to say something.

But when she met Pei Lie's gaze, she swallowed it back.

"Is there a problem?" Pei Lie asked coldly.

"……No."

Qin Shou responded calmly, his face revealing neither joy nor anger.

"Alright. Shi Meng and Wu Gang will form a team to explore 800 li to the due east."

"Lin Qing, you will come with me; there are other plans."

Pei Lie quickly assigned tasks, "Everyone prepare yourselves. We'll depart from the east gate of the market at Chenshi (7-9 AM) three days from now. Disperse."

Everyone left, and the atmosphere became somewhat somber.

After walking a short distance from the courtyard,

Sun Wan quickly caught up with Qin Shou, her face filled with worry, and whispered:

"Junior Brother Qin, isn't this mission... a bit too dangerous?"

It was our first time here, and we knew almost nothing about the inside of the swamp.

"A thousand miles away... I've heard that late-stage Tier 2 and even Tier 3 swarms are already frequently active there."

Qin Shou glanced at her; this senior sister was indeed thoughtful.

They also dare to express their doubts.

He nodded: "Senior Sister Sun's concerns are very valid."

This task assignment is indeed somewhat illogical.

However, since Senior Brother Pei has given the order, we can only do our best.

He paused for a moment, then said, "Senior sister, there's no need to worry too much."

We have three days to prepare.

You can buy more elixirs and talismans for detoxification, warding off miasma, and concealing one's aura.

Try to find out more recent news from the northeast.

When entering the swamp, exercise extreme caution, focus on reconnaissance, and avoid direct confrontation.

If anything is incorrect, withdraw immediately.

Sun Wan saw that Qin Shou was young,

But his tone was calm and his thoughts were clear, which reassured me somewhat, and I nodded:

"Junior brother is right, I was a little flustered."

Let's split up and prepare, and gather more intelligence.

See you at the east gate of the market three days later.

Watching Sun Wan's departing figure, a thoughtful look flashed in Qin Shou's eyes.

This exploration mission is unlikely to be peaceful.

Besides the inherent dangers of the swamp itself, there may also be malice lurking in the shadows.

He must be fully prepared.

Back in his room, he checked the spirit beast's condition once more.

Especially newly hatched spirit insects,

Then, they carefully categorized and stored away any necessary pills, antidotes, and other consumables.

"When soldiers come, generals will block them; when water comes, earth will dam it."

Qin Shou looked out the window at the gray-black sky to the northeast.

"Perfect timing, I'll take this opportunity to test out my new little ones."

And this mid-Foundation Establishment level strength, in this Profound Yin Swamp...

Just how big of a storm can it stir up?

On the other side, outside the courtyard where tasks were assigned,

In the shadows of a secluded alley corner, two figures quietly met.

It was Pei Lie, the true disciple of Jiaolong Peak,

Hou Tong, who wields considerable influence in this area, is associated with Lingchong Peak.

Hou Tong wore a respectful smile on his face.

He presented a bulging bag of spirit stones with both hands:

"Senior Brother Pei, I'd really appreciate it if you could do me a favor this time."

"A small token of my appreciation, five thousand spirit stones, please have some tea."

Pei Lie's expression remained cold and stern, his gaze sweeping indifferently over the spirit stone bag.

He didn't reach out to take it, but simply scanned it briefly with his divine sense to confirm that the number was correct.

He didn't put it away immediately, but instead looked up at Hou Tong.

The sound was devoid of any warmth.

"Do things cleanly."

Although the Blackwater area is remote, it is ultimately a sect's property.

Don't make too much of a commotion and put Liu Zhenren, who is stationed there, in a difficult position, and especially don't drag me into it.

His meaning was clear: he could tacitly approve or even provide some conveniences.

But Hou Tong must handle the beginning and the end himself.

We must not leave any obvious evidence, and we must not implicate him, the true leader of the team.

Hou Tong nodded repeatedly, his smile unchanged:

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Pei, I know the rules."

Deep in the swamp, insects abound and dangers abound. How many disciples perish there every year?

It was all an accident.

I will never make things difficult for my senior brother.

As he spoke, he handed the spirit stone bag forward a little further.

Pei Lie then expressionlessly reached out and took it, casually tucking it into his sleeve.

It was as if he had only received something insignificant.

"Remember what you said."

He left those words behind and didn't look at Hou Tong again.

He turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing at the alley entrance.

Until Pei Lie's presence completely disappeared,

The fawning smile on Hou Tong's face vanished instantly.

Instead, a hint of ruthlessness and disdain appeared.

"Too much noise? Hmph, people are about to die inside, how much noise can they possibly make?"

He muttered to himself, a cruel glint in his eyes.

Anyway, with Zhao Yi backing him up,

If something goes wrong, they can shift some of the blame onto him.

The brat from Spirit Silkworm Peak, and that meddlesome girl from Flying Bird Peak,

If you have to blame someone, blame your bad luck.

Offended someone you shouldn't have.

They even came to this place where people eat people and spit out their bones.

He turned around, his figure disappearing into the dimly lit streets and alleys of the market.

On the other side, inside the Qin Beast's room.

Qin Beast returned from the market.

Aside from purchasing sufficient quantities of miasma-removing pills, detoxifying powders, and replenishing some commonly used talismans, they did not linger for long.

Back in his room, he set up a protective barrier and focused his mind on the treasure gourd space.

It's time to take stock of our assets.

In one corner of the space, a specially designated area...

It is now a vibrant and thriving place.

The population size of the golden pheasant has stabilized at around 100 individuals.

Don't underestimate these hundred; they flow when the price is increased a hundredfold.

Its breeding and egg production efficiency is comparable to that of a chicken farm with tens of thousands of chickens!

The daily production of spirit eggs is stable at five to six thousand.

About three thousand of them will be used as concentrated animal feed.

Mix it with other spirit herbs and feed it to your main battle spirit beast.

The remainder was divided by Qin Beast into dozens of large storage bags.

It is a liquid asset that can be readily converted into cash.

As for those colorful golden pheasants that die of old age or are eliminated naturally...

The corpse will be slowly absorbed and decomposed by the space itself.

Its dissipated life essence and faint spiritual power,

A small portion will be absorbed by the three lit spheres high in the sky.

However, as the sphere's level increases,

The energy provided by first-tier monsters is now far from sufficient.

I want to fill up the blue sphere every few months, just like before.

It would probably require the sacrifice of a large number of second-tier demonic beasts.

The herd of Qinglin deer has expanded to more than two hundred.

They leisurely nibbled on the various low-level spiritual herbs that the Qin beasts constantly replenished within the space.

It is the main source of high-quality fresh meat for the entire spirit beast legion.

Every day, about ten elk are slaughtered.

The cut-up fresh meat was supplied to different spirit beasts.

Maintaining this population is extremely costly.

The cost of purchasing the herbs they need is a continuous expense.